The next ‘Overwatch’ patch will bring major changes, require a full reinstall

The next big Overwatch patch is shaping up to be a very important one for the massively popular multiplayer shooter, as Blizzard is planning to bring in some major changes.

“The next major patch will have some pretty fundamental changes to the game client,” said Blizzard in a post on its official support forums, explaining that with so many things to be added to Overwatch, a simple patch will not be enough.

“As a result, when the next patch comes out, the client will fully reinstall itself to handle these changes,” Blizzard added.

Blizzard does not have a release date yet for the upcoming patch, but it decided to announce the full reinstall requirement early in consideration of players with metered internet connections. Fortunately, Overwatch only takes up 13 GB of space and 30 GB for installation, much less than most other popular titles that usually require over 50 GB downloads.

Blizzard further clarified what the next major Overwatch patch will contain by describing it as a “remaster” patch, in an email to Kotaku. The update will deliver load time improvements, memory optimization for constrained systems, hard drive space reduction for the PlayStation 4, and data format changes to support future content.

The mention of “future content” has raised speculations that Blizzard is planning to add several new features to Overwatch, such as a match replay viewer. However, the developer’s plans for the multiplayer shooter remain unclear.

The next major Overwatch patch will likely introduce the newest hero to the game, the gunslinger Ashe, in addition to her omnic sidekick B.O.B. She is currently undergoing testing in the Overwatch PTR.

Blizzard has kept Overwatch fresh by constantly working on updates for the game, with the developer not shying away from difficult decisions. In an interview, Principal Designer Scott Mercer and Lead Hero Designer Geoff Goodman revealed that Ashe was almost scrapped, and that there remains the possibility of characters being retired from the game.

Goodman added that “the sky’s the limit” for Overwatch, with Mercer saying that Blizzard is looking forward to building out the game’s world. With Overwatch looking like it has staying power, gamers may assume that there will be more reinstall-requiring patches in store for them.